The demand for cybersecurity professionals far outstrips the supply of these highly skilled workers in the Washington area, a dynamic which experts and recruiters say is driving up compensation for qualified individuals and fueling fierce competition among employers to land top talent.

Pay for cybersecurity analysts in the region jumped 10.1 percent this year, according to data compiled by consulting firm Akron on behalf of the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area. That exceeds the growth in compensation across all jobs in the region, which was 2.1 percent this year.

The government’s technology can receive a bad rap — too slow, too big, too outdated. Technology contractors rarely have the cache of consumer-oriented firms such as Apple and Google.

But in the cybersecurity field, that paradigm may be turned on its head.

Government contractors certainly hope so. Seeing an area in which the government has taken the lead, and hoping to diversify their businesses in the face of declining federal spending, these companies regard cybersecurity as a prime opportunity to develop or expand their commercial practices.

Editor’s Note: The article below provides further evidence of the need to make an effective business case for investments in Big Data projects. Unless such business cases are effectively made, investments in Big Data will lag harmining economic growth.

Dr. David Bray of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is giving the keynote talk at Suits and Spooks Boston: Offensive Tactics Against Critical Infrastructure. I’ve asked Dr. Bray to speak because he’s the principal strategist for a national commission whose mandate is to determine the high priority research topics for the U.S. Intelligence Community over the next 10 years. I’ve had the privilege of speaking with he and his colleagues at the commission and found them to be very well-informed, inquisitive, open-minded and highly motivated. If you provide services to any of the 16 agencies of the U.S. Intelligence Community, you should be very interested in the work of Dr. Bray and his team. His bio follows: